Stark 20/20  3 under 40 who love Stark County and want to stay

Sunday

Jan 30, 2011 at 12:01 AMJan 30, 2011 at 6:54 PM

“Brain drain” — the problem of Stark County’s best and brightest young people leaving for better opportunities elsewhere — is one of the concerns you’ve told us about in response to our Stark 20/20 invitation.

Gayle Beck

“Impressed.” “Excited.” “It brought me to tears.” Really, I didn’t expect such strong reactions to the Stark 20/20 campaign that The Rep and CantonRep.com launched early in the new year.

I didn’t expect these reactions from three Stark Countians under the age of 40, either, but there they were in my e-mail inbox.

“Brain drain” — the problem of Stark County’s best and brightest young people leaving for better opportunities elsewhere — is one of the concerns you’ve told us about in response to our Stark 20/20 invitation.

Because you’ve suggested it, our news staff will write about stopping brain drain as a measurable goal. Later this year, after we’ve written about the issues that concern you most, Stark Countians will narrow the list to three to five projects that the community will tackle over the next 10 years.

Brain drain is a serious problem here, but the situation is not all gloom and doom. Today’s Your Voice stories about Christian Wyglendowski, Lydia Carmany and Jeremy Baltzly might persuade you that our best allies in keeping young people here are members of that generation themselves.

Jeremy Baltzly joined the “brain drain” wave out of Stark County. Now he’s back, running his own business in Jackson Township and eager to do what he can to keep people his age and younger here.

In his e-mail, the 37-year-old Jackson High School graduate said, “I have been out of the game for a while but I was so impressed with your new campaign for a better Stark County that I felt obliged to reach out, to possibly pick up where I left off.”

Baltzly earned a journalism degree from Kent State University in 2002. Last June, he opened Collective skate/art/snow on Belden Village Street NW (www.collectivesas.com), where he sells skateboards, snowboards and related art. He also is “an active participant and encourager of the downtown arts community.”

His plans don’t stop with his shop. He hopes to develop a clothing line and work with the fashion merchandising program at Kent State to set up an internship program. He also wants to create a nonprofit organization that would build “a multi-use park that includes a skate plaza.”

Baltzly wrote that he is “pointedly aware of the problem of getting educated and creative people to stay, to live and work in Stark County.

“I’ve seen many kids, nice kids and good students, give up something the love for no reason,” he wrote. “That love is skateboarding. Kids quit because they get jobs, cars and dates. It does not need to be this way. Most skateboarders continue on in their education, seeking degrees in art/photography, architecture, engineering, journalism and business. ... It is unfortunate, but these creative minds will most likely move away to make another community better. We can stop this. ...”

Like other skateboarders, he wrote, “I’m not happy standing still. I want to

The e-mail from Christian Wyglendowski came the day after we launched Stark 20/20 on Jan. 2.

“I’m very excited about the Stark 20/20 initiative,” he wrote. “The Repository is in a great position to kick-start something like this. Let’s hope the community follows through (myself included!).”

Wyglendowski, who is 32 and lives in Plain Township, continued: “I’m a Malone graduate working in software. My office is based in Palo Alto, CA, in the heart of Silicon Valley, but I telecommute. I would love to see cutting edge software jobs become a possibility here in Stark County.”

He has been studying Midwest communities that are focusing on new technology and is interested in Youngstown’s business incubator and Akron’s polymer businesses.

“I’ve thought about it many times but it’s too big for one person to address,” he wrote. “Maybe there are some ‘rich people and nerds’ (I’m one of the latter) out there who can rally together and get something started.”

Here’s the idea he sent us:

THE TOPIC: Jobs

THE ISSUE: No start-up culture

THE PROBLEM: It has been said that it takes two types of people to replicate Silicon Valley; the rich and nerds. Stark County surely has some of both. Let’s build a mini-Silicon Valley here in the “Rust Belt” by 2020.

THE STATISTICS: Have there been any successful start-up companies in Stark County in the past 10 years? Where do we find the rich people willing to invest in Stark County? Are our local universities strong or weak in training students in the engineering and science disciplines? What other localities have been successful in fostering start-up cultures? Any in the Midwest?

Lydia Carmany’s e-mail began: “First of all, I would like to say thank you. Stark 20/20 is one of the best ideas I have ever heard, and to be honest, when I read the initial column in The Repository about its inception, it brought me to tears.

“This year, I started a grassroots project called Everything Good About Canton, and the idea behind it was similar to 20/20, but with obviously a lot less power behind it. (The URL is www.everythinggoodabout.com.)”

Carmany, who lives in Plain Township, added, “The reason for my emotional reaction to your editorial is that I have the same vision for this city. The word ‘hope’ alone was enough to successfully affirm that I am doing what I need to be doing right now.”

At her website, hope jumps out at you right way in this invitation: “Carry on, Canton. We have light to share.”

Along with a plea to buy locally and listings for programs that offer food and other assistance, Carmany has a blog where she and some friends describe everything from a trip to Canton’s Arts District to a top-10 list titled “Saving Your City is Easier Than You Think.”

Carmany, who is looking for work, enjoys volunteering at the Total Living Center and singing at open-mic nights at Muggswicz Coffee & Tea. In contrast to her ambitious project, she modestly declares that she is “merely a 22-year-old graduate of Malone University who is striving to make this city better.

“I have some plans to get the younger generation (my generation) involved with various great events and city-wide fundraisers for local charities. I do not receive compensation for my work, but that is not my goal.”